Trump Administration Embraces Word Used By White Nationalists

Story by Connor Greene

For months, the White House and federal agencies have drawn outrage from critics for social media posts promoting President Trump’s immigration agenda. Some of the posts deploy jokes or memes. Others use language or images seen as racist dog whistles. This week, the Department of Homeland Security drew pushback for a post that was just one word: remigrate.

The term, which has been embraced among Trump’s MAGA base, has a fraught history in Europe, where it has ties to white nationalism and has been seen as a euphemism for ethnic cleansing.

The short post on X was followed by a link to a government site promoting self-deportation.

Where “remigration” came from

The term “remigration” has traditionally been used in Europe to refer to the mass deportation of non-white immigrants. It has been used by right-winged politicians such as Austria’s Herbert Kickl and Germany’s Alice Weidel of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The term has also been popularized by the Austrian, millennial far-right influencer Martin Sellner.

“In Europe, it's an established part of the linguistic toolbox of white supremacy,” Nicholas J. Cull, a professor of communication at the University of Southern California, tells TIME.

The use of the term in Germany and Austria has been a trademark of recent anti-immigration campaigns. Protests across Germany were sparked last year after it was alleged that AfD party members and far-right Austrians were plotting to deport thousands of migrants, causing mass pro-democracy demonstrations.